The avenger's girl
by Sheila Prior
Summary: When Peter finds a girl in an alley and takes her back to the tower, a series of events quickly follow.


One snowy night in December, in the Avengers tower, Peter came running in with a small girl on his back, looking for someone, anyone. He ran with the girl to the closest person he could find, Steve."Steve, please I need your help."

"Peter, what's wrong?" The man turned from his work, then saw the small teen in his arms, who was bleeding."Oh my good, what happened?"

"That's not important right now! Please, she needs help!" The boy exclaimed. Steve was a little shocked but easily took the girl from Peter, rushing her to the makeshift infirmary they had in the tower. It was really just an unused room, but after all the battles that the avengers had gone through, it seemed fit to have one. Steve was surprised at how light she was, and a little worried. He laid her down gently on a bed and bit his lip. He grabbed some bandages and wrapped it around her side, where the blood was coming from."What now?" Peter sighed.

"J.A.R.V.I.S, can you do a scan for, um..ailments?" He asked the AI.

"Yes Mr. Parker, running scan..." They waited for a minute. Steve sat down with Peter by the bed as they waited for the scan to complete."Scan complete. Ailments of this young woman include: Asthma, Scoliosis, Heart Arrhythmia, stomach ulcers, hypothermia, and polio." Steve's eyes widened, those were many of the health issues he'd had before the serum.

"J.A.R.V.I.S, could you explain polio?" Peter asked. Steve listened as Peter learned the basic idea of the familiar disease. The man looked down at the young woman's leg. It was shriveled and battered.

"So, she can't walk because of that?" Peter looked at Steve.

"More or less, yes." J.A.R.V.I.S confirmed. "Sirs, it might be worth mentioning that she may develop a fever." Steve nodded. Peter frowned.

"So, could you tell me what happened now?" The adult asked.

"Well, I was just on my way here, when I heard something coming from an Alley. So, I went towards it and she was there, pushed up against the wall by some jackass-"

"Language."

"Sorry, by these _jerks._ And he kept punching her, I think he was saying something about her oweing him something. Anyway, I couldn't just stand there, so I went in, but by the time the guy had run away, she had passed out. My guess is from lack of breathing, then the whole gasping thing, that makes you pass out, right?"

"From what I've heard, I believe so."

"Yeah well, she looked sick, and she was bleeding, so I ran back here." He shrugged. Steve nodded in understanding. He looked down at the alarmingly thin girl. He reasoned that she had probably been living on the streets for a while. But, then again, he hadn't been much thicker before the serum. He looked back at Peter.

"You go get something warm to drink, for the both of you, your lips are a little blue." He told the teenager. Peter reached up to his lips and realized how cold it was outside. The snow was falling after all, had been when the boy had found her. He looked at Steve.

"You want anything?" He asked as he approached the exit.

"I'm good, thanks Pete." Steve replied. After Peter left, he turned back to the girl. He finally took in her whole physical state. She was pale, and looked like she hadn't eaten in days. He pulled up another blanket and placed it on her gently, remembering what J.A.R.V.I.S had said about hypothermia. Suddenly, he heard a groan. He looked back at her face, seeing that she was opening her eyes, trying to sit up."Please, don't sit up, you might disturb the wrappings." He said and gently laid her back down. The girl blinked.

"Uhhh, am I dead?" She asked. Steve sputtered.

"What, no, you're not dead."

"Am I dreaming then?" She asked, looking at him Warily.

"Um, noo."

"Then why is _Captain america_ sitting beside me?" She asked, looking up at him. Steve chuckled.

"Probably better to ask someone else that. I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." He smiled. He couldn't really say that _Spiderman_ had saved her from over sized bullies and had taken her to the avengers tower. She gave a small nod, then winced. Steve frowned at that."Are you feeling okay?" He asked her softly. She looked like she was about to nod, but she then shook her head. "Well, is there anything you-"

"ACHOO!" She sneezed, then winced. He chuckled a little.

"I take it some warmth isn't out of the question?" He smiled. She nodded this time, smiling a little bit. He realized that this was the first time he had seen her smile. Almost as soon as he had said that, Peter backed into the room with two mugs of hot chocolate."That works." He chuckled. Peter turned around, a small smile on his face.

"Oh, good, you're up. I'm Peter, sorry about the whole commotion earlier." He told the girl.

"Thanks." She said quietly and accepted the drink after slowly sitting up.

"I'm Peter, this is Steve." Peter introduced himself and Steve. Steve then realized that he didn't know her name, and that Peter likely didn't either. But he assumed that Peter would either ask, or she'd tell them. He was correct he second time.

"Lizzie." She replied. She didn't say anything else.

"... Do you have a last name?" Peter voiced his and Steve's question. Lizzie took a minute to answer.

"Why would would you want to know?" She asked. Peter recognized her tactic.

"So we could maybe, I dunno, find your family, I'm sure they're worried about you." Steve replied. She looked away at that. Peter looked to Steve.

"Hey, Cap, could you leave us alone for a minute?" He asked. The older man frowned, but nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. Peter looked back at Lizzie."...you don't have a family, do you?" Her head snapped back to him, causing her to wince again. Peter frowned as she looked down slowly and shook her head.

"I don't even remember what that would be like." She said sadly. Peter sat on the bed beside her.

"I felt like that for a while after my aunt died. She was my only family, then I came here, I found another family." Lizzie seemed to scoff at his words.

"Yeah, but you knew once, I've never known what it was like to be hugged, or kissed goodnight. I just remember pain, cold, and people beating me up. I remember scrounging for food, praying that people would pity me enough to give me some change. I remember hoping I wouldn't freeze to death at the end or beginning of every year." She was starting to get angry now."I'm. Not. Like. You." She finally spat, then turned away from Peter. The teen sighed.

"You're right, I'm _not_ like you. I _don't_ know what that's like, I _do_ remember love. But just because _you_ don't doesn't mean you can't have it." He told her, looking back at her again. She slowly looked back at him, sipping her hot chocolate. There was a silence for a few minutes.

"... Thank you. For saving me from those assholes." She smiled a little."I never did say that." Peter smiled.

"It's no problem." He rubbed his neck."I kind of have what Tony calls a Hero complex a mile wide." He said awkwardly. Lizzie chuckled.

"I've been there before. I may not have a family, but I did protect a kid once or twice, okay, lots of times." She giggled. Peter smiled at her laugh. He lightly rubbed her shoulder.

"Alright, well, you missy, have hypothermia, and from what JARVIS said, a lot of other diseases... speaking of, is your leg alright?" He asked awkwardly. Lizzie shrugged.

"I guess."

"Okay then. Finish your hot chocolate, then get some rest, god knows you could do with a sleep in a real bed." HE told her, smiling a little. She nodded and started to finish off the hot chocolate. He smiled and put her cup on the bedside table beside his. He helped her lay down and pulled the covers up to her chin."Good night." He smiled and left, turning off the lights.


End file.
